Teachers face controversial standards

MAT-SU -- In fewer than two years, all public school teachers in the United States must be considered "highly qualified" by federal standards.

Currently, about two-thirds of Mat-Su Borough School District teachers are not considered highly qualified by federal standards but, according to Connie Lutz, who oversees professional development for the district, that doesn't mean much.

"We believe our teachers are already highly qualified," Lutz said. "But

they are saying that some of our seasoned teachers are not federally highly qualified."

Currently, Mat-Su teachers must hold a current Alaska teaching certificate and a minimum of a bachelor's degree.

In order to be federally highly qualified, however, teachers must pass rigorous tests, demonstrating that they have mastered certain subjects.

Elementary teachers must pass tests in reading, writing, math and other areas of basic elementary curriculum. Middle- and high-school teachers must pass a rigorous state academic subject test for every subject they teach, or have a substantial college education or advanced credentials.

As an alternative to these tests, teachers may compile professional portfolios to showcase effective teaching practices and subject mastery.

Lutz said that about one-third of Mat-Su teachers are already federally highly qualified and one-third are on track to be highly qualified by the June 30, 2006 deadline.

Lutz said she is not sure what would happen to those teachers who fail to become federally highly qualified by the deadline.

Harry Gamble, spokesman for the Alaska Department of Education, said the federal government has not exercised its full authority on a number of NCLB issues and he, too, is unsure what the consequences would be for teachers failing to meet the federal standards.

Gamble did say that by continuing to employ teachers who fail to meet the federal guidelines in June 2006, the state may jeopardize its federal education funds.

"It's not real clear what will happen on a lot of this," he said. "Will the feds really pull funding over this? They say they will, but I don't know."

At this point, Gamble said the state does not require individual state school boards to fire teachers who do not meet federal standards, but districts do have heavy external pressures to conform to NCLB requirements.

"I do think this is an undue burden," Lutz said. "There are two ways to make sure teachers are highly qualified. One is through university training and one is providing ongoing professional development, but passing a test is not necessarily a good indicator of whether teachers are highly qualified."

Currently one-third of Mat-Su School teachers are not on track to meet the federal requirement on time.

Kim Floyd, information specialist for Mat-Su Schools, said the district is not concerned about whether teachers can pass the exams -- it's more a matter of opportunity.

"I think our teachers are up to the task," Floyd said. "Time is the issue for most people, but we're going to make sure they have every opportunity."

Currently schools are required to inform parents if their child's teacher is federally highly qualified, but there are no consequences until June 30, 2006.

The Praxis test is the state-administered exam that the federal government uses to determine which teachers rank as highly qualified. Lutz said the school district provides study groups and coaches to help teachers understand what they need to do to meet the federal standards on time.

Kathy Summers is president of the Mat-Su Education Association, a local teachers union with roughly 900 members. She said the federal requirements are just one more thing on teachers' already-full plates.

"Our teachers are already highly qualified," she said, "and to have the feds say these are the things you have to have, well, some people would say that's not necessary."

Summers said it is more difficult for primary teachers to meet the federal standards because many of them have general-education degrees and do not have specialized degrees in subjects like history, English or science.

"Our secondary teachers lend themselves more towards being federally highly qualified," Summers said, "but middle and elementary teachers might just have K-8 education degrees and it takes time for teachers to study and prepare for these tests."

Contact Joel Davidson at joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.